Lars and Sadie Meet the Bare Bears
by SpaceRockAndRoll
Summary: After Lars crosses a line with Sadie, she runs away and stumbles upon the bear cave. The brothers then try to help Sadie in her situation with Lars.
1. Chapter One

There was nothing he could say to change what had happened. He reached his hand up to his wide-open mouth to cover the astonishment.

Her expression was sad. She lay on the ground, holding onto the new bruise displayed on her eye. Nobody had ever so much as made a rude remark to Sadie, and now she was crying like she never had before, all because of her "Player Two".

"I...I'm so sorry...I don't know what just happened. You've gotta believe me. Please? Babe, please? I didn't say 'I do' because of your quitting attitude, I did it because I love you. And you know something I love about you? You have an amazing tolerance for jerks like me."

Sadie arose, brought her arm to wipe away the stream flowing from her eyes, and looked up at him. She gathered every ounce of energy that hadn't been shocked out of her by the blow and uttered, "Lars, you've crossed a line this time."

"I said I was sorry! I'll work for both of us at the Big Donut for a week-no-a month! Please, Sadie. You've gotta forgive me."

She turned away from him, clutched the door handle with a loose grip, and spoke through a shaking voice, "I'm leaving."

Aghast, Lars inquired, "leaving?! For how long?"

"Just leaving!", she sobbed loudly, already running down the stairs to the car. Truthfully, she had no idea where she was going, but she knew there was no way being around her abusive husband was the right thing to do. She didn't feel safe around him anymore.

Only after around ten minutes was she able to get farther than their driveway, as she hit the cracks in the pavement pulling out and broke down in tears once more. Now calm and collected, the bruised blonde furiously slammed on the gas pedal and drove away.

Kleenex were strewn about the floor back at Lars and Sadie's residence, stained with remorseful tears. Lars may put on a convincing tough-guy façade most of the time, but this really tipped him over the edge. His emotions couldn't be held in, and guilt was eating away at him.

Every part of Lars just wanted to let Sadie know how sorry he was, but he understood that she needed to have some time to herself. Still, being away from her was unbearable. After all, he made a vow to be a great husband through everything, in sickness and in health, to the end of his days.

Love seemed to be a distant memory at this point-he was truly bracing himself to accept the loss of his beloved spouse. Though he wanted nothing more than to have her happy and home with him once more, he felt an overwhelming sensation of powerlessness towards his wish.

As he struggled through an episode of _Crying Breakfast Friends_ (the subject matter of which wasn't improving his mood), he thought about every little thing he did to upset her over their last five years of marriage...

 _...right, even though he KNOWS he's wrong! I hate when he yells at me for working late at the Big Donut. I hate when he laughs at me for being shorter than him. I hate when he shames me for being overweight. I hate..._

She stopped mentally listing the things that she didn't like about Lars, because she was focusing so hard that she almost ignored the road in front of her. Suddenly, she had a horrible thought:

 _Did I deserve this?_

In that moment, she recalled the events of that evening, playing them over in her head like a movie.

Everything seemed so clear when she recounted it, burned permanently into the clouded banks of her memories. First, she was laying on the couch, flipping through channels to see if anything was interesting enough to watch. By coincidence, as soon as she settled on a station to stick with, Lars stormed into the room, visibly infuriated.

"Something wrong, dear?", Sadie asked.

"Alright, how many times have I asked you to clean up our room?"

"The...well...I'm sorry! I've been putting in extra hours at the Donut, and I think I might finally get that managerial position.", she remarked. "Corporate has taken a close eye to the Beach City location, and I suspect it's a good thing this time!"

"That's the best excuse you've got?", he queried her.

"Hey!", she stood up and gave an angry stare, yelling, "I'm making most of the money in this house, anyway! Why are you getting angry at _me_ for being the responsible one? You can't even be trusted not to eat the donuts at work! If _I_ told _you_ to clean our room, you'd forget to do it too. What would _your_ excuse be?"

Everything in the logical reasoning section of his brain clicked off in an instant, and all of a sudden, his fist swung through the air. Before he could stop, or even realize what he had done, his fist got a sudden jolt of pain, and his wife forcefully fell backwards.

 _Even if he's a jerk I WAS being a bit harsh...maybe it's just me getting what I deserve. I hope not, but it could be true..._

Now that she had a chance to look around without thinking to herself, she realized she had driven her station wagon down a strange road into the woods. It was dark outside, and she hadn't seen another car for miles, so she kept going until she eventually came across a cave that appeared to be inhabited by a civilized individual. It had a satellite dish, a basketball hoop, and even looked like a house from the outside.

During her momentary amazement at said secluded residence, she heard a voice coming from inside: "Ice Bear hears someone outside the cave." The door opened...

* * *

 **Alright, well, I'm new and I guess I'm just looking for some feedback here. I plan to make this a three-chapter story, and I'll publish the other two no matter what, but I'd be much more motivated to do so if I knew there were people reading this, y'know? If I get some reviews/faves/followers, I'll focus more effort into getting the next two chapters out faster. Thanks.**


	2. Chapter 2

"Grizz! Come quick! Ice Bear says there's someone outside! We have a visitor!", Panda yelled. Sadie stood in place, nearly paralyzed in both fear and suspense. Three different faces, one brown, one white, and one black-and-white appeared in the window, and each made eye contact with her.

Realizing how confused the strange woman must have been, Grizz piped up, "well, would you like to come in or what? We won't bite, promise." Though she was still hesitant, she saw no option other than accepting the brown bear's invitation. After all, she _was_ lost.

 _I hope I'm not going crazy_ , she thought as she approached the door. _They may be bears, but they do seem to be intelligent. They almost certainly know how to get me back home._ Two steps before she would have reached for the doorknob, the blue barrier swung open, revealing Grizz, who was smiling broadly. Sadie took a deep breath and relaxed herself, lifted a finger to point at the brown bear, and asked the first thing that came into her head.

"Zoo animals?"

"Zoo? What? Uhh...no. We're free roaming and undomesticated bears. Completely wild! Right, guys?"

To respond, Panda put his phone away and let out an unconvincing growl, attempting to match his brother's "wild" description by simultaneously raising his arms in a menacing pose.

Resisting any emotion in his face or tone, Ice Bear followed up on Panda's move with, "Ice Bear has an axe."

"I think it's time we invited our guest in, right guys?" Grizz stated. "Come on, don't be shy", he added, extending his arm and making the 'come here' motion before turning for the door.

Eager now to see the interior of their den, Sadie followed the brothers inside. She was no longer afraid of them, except for the reserved and mysterious Ice Bear. The place was somewhat messy, but in an organized way. Food was evidently the main focal point of these bears' lives-it was essentially the primary visible item seen laying around. It was a simple arrangement, mostly consisting of basic furnishing.

"So, what's your name then, lady?" asked Panda, blushing slightly. Grizz flashed him a quizzical look, but it wasn't long before he picked up on Panda's new crush.

There was confusion in her voice as she said, "how exactly can you guys talk?"

"Oh, I see how it is. First you don't answer his question, then you accuse us of being stupid?" Grizz angrily ejected.

Sadie quickly shot back with, "what? No, I'm not accusing you of being simple-minded or anything...it's just that bears don't usually-".

The brown bear interjected, "I was just messing around! I'm Grizzly-you can call me Grizz-and these are by brothers, Panda and Ice Bear. I'm sure you can figure out which bear is which."

"Of course. My name's Sadie, and I've gotta cut to the chase here: I really should be getting back home...or at least back to Beach City. Can you guys help me out here?"

Panda, in an effort to respond before either of his brothers were able, asked, "leaving so soon? You just got here! Stay for a while, have some fun!"

 _The new girl of my dreams is right here, and she already wants to leave? Was it something I said? Is it noticeable that I didn't shower this morning?_ , thought Panda Bear, sweating in anticipation of Sadie's response.

Halting the silence, she finally spoke, "well, you see...I've got an issue. A big one. It's my husband. I'm kinda running away from him...he..." she started tearing up again, burying her face in her hands, never finishing her sentence. The bears looked at each other with worried expressions. Panda looked the most concerned, though.

Everything Sadie said after "husband" may as well have been radio static to Panda, who got a sudden cold wave of feeling over his body, heartbroken. He did the same as she had in her sadness, putting his paws over his face. "I need to be alone!" he yelled, running into his room.

"Man, what's _his_ problem?" Grizz wondered aloud. "How inconsiderate of him to leave our new friend like this. Please, sit down. Are you alright?"

Bringing herself to a more calmed state, Sadie wiped away tears with her sleeve and replied, "no, I'm not alright. I don't know what to do. I need help, and I need someone to talk to."

"Uhh...how about us! Think we could help? I'm sure my general knowledge will be useful in your aid. Plus, PANDA knows a bunch about relationships", Grizz relayed, raising his voice at the name of his brother, effectively calling him to the scene.

The black and white bear emerged from his room, alerted after hearing his name. He was still visibly upset, as it had not been long since he had run off in the first place. "What do you guys want? I'm dealing with some stuff right now."

"This nice lady-Sadie-is in need of assistance. She's having some problems of her own, and as your older brother, I command that you use your expertise to help her out."

"Hey, that's not how it works! I'm capable of making my own decisions, and it's _my_ decision to help Sadie with anything she needs", said Panda, smiling over at her.

Elated to have found unlikely friends in these bears, she cheered up and started smiling again herself. She suddenly had a bittersweet enthusiasm, preparing to talk with new friends, albeit about a rough subject. They brought her to the couch, sat her down, and even prepared her a nice meal ("Ice Bear hopes you like chicken").

"Yes, I'm ready to start talking about it", said Sadie after about a half hour of casual conversation with the bears. She saw it as a nice distraction from the inevitable discussion, but she knew accepting it would be easier on her.

"Great! Well, let's start with the obvious, how did you get here?" started Grizz. "Clearly you took a wrong turn _somewhere_ to have ended up at our place!"

"Oh, well...er...I'd have to give the whole story for that to make any sense. You see, it all started with this jerk I work with named Lars..." she began. Her story worked through meeting Lars, falling in love with him, revealing her feelings, getting him to agree to a date, getting him to agree to marry her, and present day. "I felt like he finally changed, top to bottom. He was a better person, even if it took all that time. Or so I thought..."

Panda, now on the edge of his seat, chimed in, "what happened? Why 'or so you thought'?"

Right as he said that, Sadie got a big lump in her throat. She looked straight down, facing the floor, for a few moments, before finally pulling up to present herself before the bears. She pointed to her eye. "See this black eye?"

"I have two of those!" Panda delightfully proclaimed, not quite grasping the weight of the situation. Grizz and Ice Bear turned to each other, looking concerned, immediately understanding what she meant.

"Maybe this isn't such a good time, Panda...it's not quite the same thing. This is more serious than I thought. Is this, by chance, the first time he's done this?" Grizz questioned. Sadie nodded in response, and Panda suddenly realized what the implication of her wound was. In a brief moment of leadership, he stepped up and gave his thoughts.

"All people deserve a second chance. Maybe not a third or fourth, but if this is unusual, I think you should try to work it out."

Looking surprised at his brother's sudden seriousness (not to mention how he set aside his feelings for her), Grizz then took on a straight and determined face, proudly exclaiming, "let's get Lars down here. I have an idea!"

* * *

 **Here's chapter two. I've got some plans in place for the finale, chapter three, so I expect it to be even longer, continuing the pattern (this one was a few hundred words longer than the first). Drop me some feedback if you can take the time. I'm still new to the site, so any reception is welcome. If you loved it, let me know. If it sucked, let me know too. Since the last chapter will be longer, it may take me a little while to finish. Two weeks, maybe? Not sure. Stay tuned.**


	3. Chapter III

**The long-awaited follow-up to chapters one and two. I wrote the first two around the time school started last year, then completely forgot. It would fade into my memory every once in a while throughout the academic year, but I was always too busy to get it done. I lost the original draft for this due to the website's 90-day inactivity period deletion system, and I even lost one or two more drafts that I began, typed a few sentences for, and abandoned in negligence soon after. The following was written recently, but it retains my original vision 100% for the final chapter of the story.  
** **I sincerely hope you find the wait was worth it, and that you enjoy this third installment. As always, feedback is welcome-nay-it's encouraged.**

* * *

Pulling into the driveway of the Bears' cave, the old van marked "Mr. Universe" slowly came to a stop. Lars stepped out and looked to Steven, but the half-gem just sighed and began backing out, ignoring him.

"Alright, well, thanks anyway", he spoke to the ground.

Night time was approaching, and the sunset shone over his head as he trudged to the house. The Bears, who had been watching the outside through the window for a half hour, were shaken by the scene.

 _Does he look like he's truly sorry, or is it just an act?_ , they wondered.

All parties present were concerned for something: Lars sought redemption, Sadie needed peace, and the Bears were hoping for a resolution to each side's issue.

All were silent, as none were prepared to speak, or even to take on the situation at all. Naturally, Lars hesitated to knock on the door, but knew it was necessary if he wanted to get Sadie back. He wasn't ready, but he proceeded as though he was.

Now, for the moment, he felt the same as he did when he first struck Sadie-unable to think straight.

 _Do it_ , he thought.

"I'm here", he let out, knocking.

"Come on in", uttered Grizz disapprovingly.

Even if he wanted to, he could not escape; he proceeded.

"Boy, this sure is a nice place", he nervously said through the teeth of a forced smile. It was, too; looking around, Lars was bewildered at how elaborately dressed it was. Not anything incredibly noteworthy by the standards of a house, but in the very least impressive for a cave _pretending_ to be one.

Every second felt like ten as he walked with the brown bear towards his brothers. Sadie lifted her head from its downward position, and the other two bears turned away from her, all of their gazes now favoring her husband's entrance.

"As I'm sure you know, I wanted you here for a reason", started Grizz. Lars was quickly succumbing to anxiety, practically choking on the air around him as he listened intently. "Abuse is a serious matter, and we, as bears of good heart"-he gestured to his brothers-"take great issue with it. If we were any less refined, we'd maul you on the spot!"

Regressing slightly into the entryway, Lars flinched at the sound as his concern became fear "...And lucky for you, we happen to be more civilized than that. I've taken it upon myself to resolve this conflict in a much more diplomatic-and far less messy-way". "Not to be rude, can I butt in for a sec?" asked Panda. "None of the rest of us actually know what your plan is yet. Don't you think we should have talked about it before you called him over? Your ideas tend to go a little...off the rails...at times". "Dude, just trust me on this one; I know what I'm talking about. When have I ever failed you?"

"Hmm, well, uhm-"

"Absolutely never!" he shouted, taking advantage of Panda characteristically fumbling over his words and cutting him off.

Varying his breathing patterns less now, Lars thought: _Maybe it will be alright after all, they seem nice enough._ He was beginning to relax, more comfortable with the situation. And _you know what? Maybe this is just a dream. Talking bears? Riiiiiiiiiight._ His nerves were so shot before that he completely ignored their unusual ability to speak until this point.

Every sentence was like watching a tennis player for Ice Bear, who moved his head back and forth, fixating politely on the respective speaker in each instance.

And through all this, Sadie just looked on with a thousand-yard stare. It was unclear to those around her whether or not she was paying any attention Regardless of their interpretation, she caught every word, allowing each to individually sink in and affect her.

"Now, here's my pitch: A camping trip!", Grizz announced, to the visible shock of Lars and Panda. Sadie maintained her stare, and Ice Bear remained silent and expressionless. "Think of it more as a retreat so you two can get away from everything and sort things out, but with the three of us as supervisors!"

"Ice Bear likes camping", said the polar bear in third person, inserting his comment before anyone else had the chance.

Collectively, those newly-introduced to the idea Grizz presented looked down, as though their feet and the ground beneath them held the answers to the questions they now had.

"Eh, if Ice Bear is going, at least we know it will be safe. Count me in!", declared Panda.

"Might I ask the couple in question what they're thinking?" Grizz inquired, looking back and forth between Lars and Sadie. Lars looked around nervously, unsure what to make of the events unfolding before him.

Effectively forcing Lars to follow suit, Sadie interjected, "I'm willing to give it a shot, as long as he"-she shot Lars a look-"cooperates".

And with that, they all headed into the woods together. It wasn't a very long journey, even by foot. Before they knew it, the five of them had made their way to a campsite in the forest. Panda brought a tent, Grizz brought a book about couples therapy, and Ice Bear brought an axe.

Looking around, Ice Bear decided to go off exploring on his own while the others pitched the tent. They didn't mind his absence, as he likely wouldn't have contributed much to the discussion.

Converging on a two logs arranged near one another, Grizz and Panda sat on one with the humans on the one opposite, sharing the log from separate ends of its whole.

"Okay guys, let's talk about this. Lars, you've done something horrible, but not..." Grizz turned the page in his book. "...unforgivable. This is the first time it's happened, so if you guys talk about it, we can probably all leave here happy and agree that it was just an out-of-character mistake, right?"

"No", said Panda, somewhat angrily. "I don't think it should be that easy". He was making it obvious to Grizz that, though he wanted their situation resolved, he still had an eye for Sadie.

"So what do you suggest then, huh?"

"I don't know, how about _anything_ that isn't this immediate? What kind of message are we sending them if we think an apology makes up for physical abuse?"

Sadie looked at Lars, then back at the bears arguing with one another. "Sounds like you guys could use a bit of relationship therapy, too" said Sadie, half joking.

"Today is supposed to be about you guys, let's not forget that!" Grizz shot back.

"I can't imagine it was necessary to bring us out into the woods, Grizz. And when are we gonna eat? We're probably just irritated becasue we're hungry".

"Not now. We eat later. Focus on Lars and Sadie, Panda. And by the way, it was _absolutely_ necessary to be in the woods. It says right here in the book"-he presented page 43 to his brother-"that nature and scenic landscapes have a calming effect and that being in a room for an extended stressful conversation only leads to more anxiety. Gosh, am I the only one who cared enough to read the book?"

"Grizz, I've never even seen that book before today. Since when are you such an expert on couples?"

"Oh my God, would you stop bickering? It's annoying!" fired Lars. "I'm getting bored over here!"

"Now there's the Lars I know and love" Sadie expressed, half-smiling at him. Lars reciprocated the partial smile with one of his own.

"Let's all just leave, clearly it was a mistake to come out here in the first place" said Panda. "I don't care what your book says, Grizz. I'm starving and it's starting to get cold"

"You are such a complainer, Panda! We have fur. Why should you care if it's cold? You're just making up excuses. Honestly, you don't care about anyone here, I'm sure; you just want to be home where there's cell service."

Over the course of the next few minutes, they shot back and forth at each other, each sticking stubbornly to their respective opinion and neither really reaching any kind of conclusion. Throughout the battle, however, Lars and Sadie were surprisingly calm, especially towards each other. Their half-smiles faded into neutral expressions, but their mutual attention advanced to locking eyes.

"For the love of God, you're brothers. I'm sure stuff this happens all the time, so why let it get in your way? You'll probably forget about it tomorrow", Sadie said, beginning loud for their attention and bringing down her volume once she had it.

"Lars, Sadie, I know this is supposed to be your time, but I feel somewhat betrayed by my brother right now. He gets crazy ideas sometimes, but never springs them on us so abruptly and spontaneously. It's like he has no consideration of my feelings".

Almost calm to the point of sounding tired, Sadie looked to her husband, closed her eyes and smiled. She opened them a few seconds later, looked at the brothers and said, "sometimes people can get on your nerves. Sometimes, they even cross the line. But as long as they swear it was a one-time thing, you should let the past be the past." She glared at Grizz, then to Lars.

"Right, it'll never happen again! I love you, player two" said Lars, reaching out his hand and meeting Sadie's. Grizz followed suit, proclaiming, "I'm so sorry Pan-Pan. I...I guess you're right. I should think about how these things will affect you first." He got a puzzled look on his face, and followed up with "say, are you feeling alright?"

Suddenly, Panda jumped up on Lars, and as if on cue, Ice Bear appeared behind him to share the ensuing feast.

"Oh no!" Sadie exclaimed. "Everything was finally starting to look up..."

Horrified, they ran a safe distance from the scene. "I must be the worst brother ever" said Grizz.

"Why do you say so now?" asked Sadie.

Embarrassed, he spoke: "because I could have prevented this. I really messed up by not letting them eat first. Now they've gone primal!"

Laughing eerily, Sadie said "it doesn't matter, Grizz. Anyone could've seen the ending coming." Grizz didn't verbally reply, but gave a face that said 'what?'.

"Lars should've looked at the first letter of every paragraph if he wanted to avoid this". Sadie turned to the audience and finished her thought: "Yes, that includes the first two chapters. No, that does not include the boldface 'side-note' text from the author at the beginning or end of each chapter. FEEDBACK ENCOURAGED!"


End file.
